An interviewer quickly learns that he’s not going to get a simple “yes” of “no” from Piper Laurie. Especially when asked about a favorite role or film, first there’s a deep look into the eyes.

Then an arch of the eyebrow indicates that there will be no answer forthcoming and you better move on to the next question. Or, perhaps, just a few words from that lusciously warm, deep voice: “That’s better left in the book.” Followed by an irresistible grin.

That’s how Piper Laurie utterly charmed both the audience and theater and film historian Foster Hirsch Saturday afternoon at the highlight of the annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.

Having been an actress for more than 60 years now, Laurie showed that she still has a feistiness about her and a playful sense of humor as she shared further stories about her life and career. Many of them she earlier told in an interview with The Times-Picayune. Many more appear in her new memoir, “Learning to Live Out Loud.”

The richly insightful autobiography provided Hirsch with many of the opening questions. Many of the answers, however, were best left to be found in the pages of the book.

It’s not that Laurie was simply trying to sell more copies or hide anything – indeed, the book is quite frank and revealing. It was a matter of attaining a particular comfort level.

“The act of writing the book was painful at times, but it was easier than talking to someone” about certain events in her life, she said Saturday. Laurie found a comfortable relationship in working with the blank page – taking her time to find just the right way, precisely the right words, to tell her story. That’s a luxury she said she doesn’t have when talking about those same stories, especially before an audience.

Nevertheless, Laurie said she is happy that she was so revealing in her memoir.

“I have friends that I didn’t know I had,” she said. “Strangers who have had the same experiences.”

Among the more painful stories shared are from her childhood. The title of the memoir comes from the early case of acute anxiety disorder that she suffered from as a child, which left her unable to speak, or even to laugh. Later, she was sent away to a camp in California for three years to accompany her sister who had a breathing disorder. That sense of abandonment eventually was seen as a blessing, Laurie said.

Though there was much anger, “I accepted it. I never understood it,” Laurie said. “But in the loneliness, I discovered my imagination.”

That imagination led to an early fascination with acting, and by the time she was a teen-ager, she was drawn to the movies.

“Learning other people’s words allowed me to communicate,” she said.

By 17, she was signed as a contract player with Universal Studios, appearing opposite such stars as Ronald Reagan (a brief, but key relationship – read the book!), Tyrone Power and Tony Curtis. She and Rock Hudson did their first screen tests for the studio together.

Even as her career as a movie starlet was taking off, Laurie was unhappy with the quality of the roles she was being offered.

“I thought they were really kind of stupid,” she said bluntly. “They were trash … My characters were a cartoon of a real person.”

When she would ask a director for help in developing her role, she was told to “just learn your lines and show up for work.” She soon gained a reputation as a young actress who asked too many questions.

“I didn’t learn a thing about acting during that time,” she told Hirsch.

As soon as she was able, she quit Universal and headed to New York to study theater. Early television work earned her acclaim; the first of three Oscar nominations even came with her role in “The Hustler.” But Laurie said she lost her respect for acting. In the 1960s, life intervened and she was drawn to such causes as the Civil Rights Movement.

Returning to the theater let her rediscover her profession. One of the key roles was as Laura in the first major Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.” (Laurie will speak much more about her work directly with Williams’ plays at a panel discussion in the Hotel Monteleone’s Royal Ballroom at 1 p.m. Sunday, the closing day of the festival.)

Laurie’s return to Hollywood, after a 15-year hiatus, gave her one of her most unforgettable roles – the wicked mother in Brian dePalma’s “Carrie.”

“It was the most fun I ever had,” she said. “I would just laugh between takes. It was fun to be so mean.”

A final question from the audience capped the interview, as Laurie was asked to repeat her now classically iconic line from “Carrie.” Taking a moment to recall it, she leaned back and let out a hearty, “They’ll all laugh at you!”

With a broad grin, Laurie also has learned to laugh out loud.

Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary FestivalWhat: Plays, panel discussions, music, walking tours and contests that pay homage to Williams, theater and literature.When: The festival, which began March 22, continues through March 25.Where: It is based at the Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St., with events at 11 nearby venues.Admission: Most events require a panel pass ($75) or a one-day pass ($30). Some require a separate purchase. For tickets, call 504.581.1144 or visit the festival's Web site.